This Week in CleanTech has a weekly podcast covering the most inspiring stories in clean energy and climate in 15 Minutes or Less featuring Paul Jerk. Factor this And Mike Casey of TigerCum.
This week’s episode features special guest Shannon Osaka of The Washington Post, who writes about a new study that blames rising electricity bills on rising fixed costs of the power grid, rather than just data center growth.
This week’s “Clincher of the Week” is Jonathan Shaw, CEO of Noro. Under his leadership, Nuru commissioned the Democratic Republic of Congo’s first commercial solar mini-grid in 2017, followed by three more that are now powering communities across the country. The company is currently building the largest solar mini-grid in sub-Saharan Africa. Congratulations, Jonathan!
The DOE, under Chris Wright, sent a letter to FERC, urging the commission to speed up the interconnection of large loads such as data centers, and the power sources that serve them. The letter proposes new generation as well as policy ideas to consider these new demand sources, and the large loads these will need to foot the bill for any grid upgrade. Strategy firm Capstone LLC sees the project as positive for nuclear plant owners with co-location deals with data centers, as well as gas turbine manufacturers and on-site power technology companies.
Read here.
In the US, it costs about $28,000 to install a 7 kW system on your roof. In Australia, it’s about $4,000, and in Germany, just $10,000 after a simple two-page form. Costs are driven by homeowner associations as well as state and local regulations, making it difficult for Americans to go solar with many permits, inspections and connection hurdles.
Permit, a nonprofit advocating for fewer restrictions on renewables, has proposed that states adopt policies used in other countries such as fast online permitting, remote photo or video inspections, and automatic grid connections for homes that safely manage the flow of electricity to homes with smart inverters. If states made these changes, 18 million more American homes could afford rooftop solar. This saves about $1,600 a year on electricity bills, or $56,000 per household over 25 years, adding up to a total national savings of $1.2 trillion.
Read here.
The US government has reached an $80 billion deal with Westinghouse owners Brookfield Asset Management and Chemco to build a fleet of nuclear reactors. The investment could provide up to eight AP1000 power plants, or a mix of larger facilities and smaller modular reactors. The funds will come from a US$550 billion Japan trade deal, with up to US$100 billion set aside for Westinghouse projects.
Washington will help Westinghouse secure sites and regulatory approvals and may offer loan guarantees or support the company’s efforts to win new international contracts.
Read here.
The Trump White House has canceled more than $24 billion in EV, battery and renewable energy projects this year, according to new data from the nonpartisan group E2. Georgia alone lost three projects totaling more than $2.9 billion in promised investment and 1,077 projected jobs.
Since the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, Georgia has announced 35 clean energy projects representing approximately $12.9 billion in planned investments and 17,380 estimated jobs. But because Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill Act rolled back many of the IRA’s benefits, E2 reported that the plan’s repeal hit Republican districts the hardest, costing them about $14.6 billion in investment and more than 19,000 jobs, compared to $7.8 billion and 7,040 jobs in Democratic areas.
Read here.
While many Americans blame rising electricity bills from data centers, a new study suggests the real culprit is the rising fixed costs of the power grid: poles, wires, aging equipment and flexibility investments.
With rising power demand (partly due to data centers), states saw lower inflation-adjusted power prices between 2019-24, as fixed costs were spread over more megawatt-hours. The article warns that this pattern may not last: if demand growth completely forces new infrastructure investment, prices may still rise in the future.
Read here.
